Regret
by Amberflame805
Summary: Set after Tigerstar's death at the paws of Scourge. Basically a series of stories and events in the Dark Forest between the first series and the last.
"I wonder sometimes if you regret what you've done," Mapleshade's eyes are slits as she studies him, curiosity in those dark amber depths.

"Do _you_?" He growls as he turns away. He didn't have time for this, for her twisted words and warped reality that made something like hope seem so ridiculous there was no point in even trying.

"Oh come now, Tigerstar! We know each other better than this; it's just a question."

"Why does it matter if I'm remorseful? StarClan won't care; eternity is a long time to rot and they intend to make sure I pay my time down to the very last minute." He paws angrily at the undergrowth, refusing to meet Mapleshade's prying eyes.

"It's worse for you because you were so close, isn't it?" She muses, ignoring his anger. "Power greatness, even _love_ , you could have had it all. Goldenflower wouldn't have followed you, but Sasha… It was really just bad luck she heard that meeting. Or maybe it was StarClan; we'll never know. Your kits would have grown old by your side and you would have gone down in legend as the greatest warrior to ever live."

"Are you enjoying this?" He asks with a hiss. "Is rubbing in my failure giving you pleasure?"

"Of course it is. Pain craves pain, and you're a worthy companion in this forest of misery."

Tigerstar lets out a snort of disbelief as he ducks beneath the low hanging branch of a tree. "I see. And why do you care?"

Instead of answering she asks her own question, "Does Brambleclaw mean anything to you?"

"Once." He remembers a moment of peace in ThunderClan's old camp with Goldenflower at his side and his kits at his feet. At that moment he'd felt content, almost as if… As if the feeling of warmth his family offered would be enough. _I could have ruled ThunderClan with my son at my side… if that kittypet had found Bluestar just a second later…_

"And now? Do you still care?"

 _Join you? After what you've done? I would rather die!_ The words echo in his mind and he snarls, long claws digging into the dead growth below. "He betrayed me! I gave him a chance to join the most powerful Clan ever, to stand by his sister's side and he-"

"-Stayed with Firestar, who killed Scourge when you could not, united the Clans when you failed, and won an unwinnable battle which you lost."

Tigerstar's face twists with rage and for a second he considers striking her. But the only thing worse than rotting with a sadistic old hag for eternity would be rotting alone. "Why do you do this to _me_? Why don't you mock Brokenstar? He died in my- ThunderClan's camp from _berries_ given by his own mother's paw! Isn't he a better target?"

"You're much more fun. Your anger for Brambleclaw only stems from your hurt, same with Sasha. Love is the only thing you can't conquer, Tigerstar. And you, unlike Brokenstar, wanted it. Perhaps he would have taken a mate eventually, but only to produce heirs. You, on the other paw, wanted more than just power. And that makes you all the more fun to play with."

"Ah. So you're punishing me for not being a sociopath."

Mapleshade nods, a smile dancing in her gaze. "What are you going to do now?"

"Hmm?" He responds distractedly as he scans the area for the pool.

She lets out a sigh of annoyance. "I mean, your plan failed and now you're dead. What are you going to do now?"

He stops, amber eyes dark and angry. "You're too blunt for your own good," He growls. "And… I don't know."

"What?" She asks in mock surprise. "The great Tigerstar has no plan? No epic quest for greatness, no evil plot of escape, nothing at all?"

"Will you shut your face for one second and let me think?" He snarls pawing at the surface of the water.

"Someone's touchy," She complains as she peers over his shoulder. "Uh… What are you doing?"

"Ignoring you," He replies as his paws stirs up the mud, turning the pool into a dark puddle of blackness.

"Great you made mud, are you proud?" Mapleshade asks sarcastically, but out of the corner of his eye he sees the curiosity beneath her mocking.

"Actually, yes," He replies with a smirk as the muck starts to shimmer, an image faded and cracked finally settling upon the surface.

But it's not really an image. The cats inside it are moving, speaking. It's a looking glass into the world of the living, it's-

"Impossible," Mapleshade breaths in astonishment. "Only StarClan can watch over the Clans."

"I have no intention of 'watching over them' and neither do you."

Her surprise turns to excitement, a wicked gleam making her faded eyes shine. "So you _do_ have a plan."

"Of course," Tigerstar's voice is smug and prideful. "What, did you really think the 'great Tigerstar' intended to heed StarClan's wishes and rot away quietly in the dark?"

She leans forwards, stirring the pool with her paw. The view changed, now there is are kits tussling in the grass, a tawny colored she-cat watching them with amusement. "Who are they?"

"The smaller tom is Hawk, the other is his brother, Tadpole," He says proudly. "The she-cat is their mother, Sasha."

"And?"

"Oh you shall see," His amber eyes gleam with malice as he speaks, long claws digging deep into the dead soil. "Firestar thinks he's won. He thinks his Clan is _safe._ But soon…"

Tigerstar voice drops to a purr. "When his Clan is ash and the cats he loves dust, when StarClan is nothing but a memory from a time long ago, when he watches everything he built fall to pieces, one shattered fragment after the other…"

"And _that,_ " Mapleshade interrupts, "Is why it's you I follow. You're quite worthy of my time."

They stand there like that for a long time, the idea of revenge like a light in the endless blackness of their futures, a promise that he intended to fulfill, no matter the cost.

 **Hey guys.**

 **It's been a while :P**

 **I lost interest in Warriors, I got obsessed with other fandoms and you know... Homework wasn't going to do itself.**

 **I found an old playlist of old warriors videos I'd saved, and I was inspired.**

 **So I wrote this.**

 **Any questions about what happened (why i disappeared and stuff) I'll answer in PM**

 **Also, I do very much intend this to be multi chapter.**

 **-Amber**


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